Cyber Security with Year in Industry

Cybersecurity addresses one of the most pressing challenges of the digital age: how to protect the systems, data and infrastructure on which individuals, organisations and governments depend from an evolving landscape of threats. As organisations of every kind have become dependent on networked systems and digital data, the consequences of security failures have grown more severe and the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals has grown with them. A degree in this field equips you with both the technical knowledge to understand and defend against cyber threats and the professional understanding of how organisations manage security at a strategic level.

At York St John University this programme with a year in industry runs over four years full time, with the industry year giving you a sustained period of professional experience in a cybersecurity or technology role. Working in a real security environment alongside professional practitioners is an invaluable formative experience for students who will need to demonstrate both theoretical knowledge and practical competence to graduate employers. You will develop specialist skills and knowledge in areas that are seeing strong growth and high demand, including network security, cryptography, ethical hacking and penetration testing, digital forensics, incident response and the governance frameworks that organisations use to manage cyber risk.

You will learn to think about security from both an attacker's and a defender's perspective, developing the analytical skills needed to identify vulnerabilities, assess risks and design effective defences. The industry year significantly strengthens the professional credibility of the degree.

Graduates from cybersecurity programmes move into careers as information security analysts, penetration testers, security engineers, digital forensic investigators, security consultants and network security specialists across public and private sector organisations. The demand for graduates with genuine cybersecurity skills is strong and sustained. Postgraduate study in cybersecurity or computer science is also an option for those seeking specialist or research careers.